There are many costs associated with low self-confidence. Having a sour mood and misinterpreting what other people say and do will lead to unworkable relationships. You’ll expect people to reject you because you’re unworthy. Others will distance themselves from you and you’ll spend most of your time alone.

You’ll get angry easily and avoid social situations in order to protect yourself. When people want to be close to you, you’ll fail to set healthy limits and not be assertive for fear of being rejected. When relationships don’t work out well, you cite them as evidence that there is something drastically wrong with you, and this makes your self-confidence diminish even further.

When you have low self-confidence, you find it difficult to identify and achieve goals in your life. You don’t fulfill your life’s purpose. There’s no reason to try to contribute to others since you have little worth yourself. You feel there’s nothing important that you have to give. Instead, you protect yourself from what you perceive to be a dangerous world.

Sooner or later, your low self-confidence and the emotional turmoil you’re experiencing will translate into a breakdown of your physical body. Withholding love from yourself ultimately makes you unhappy and will cause premature aging. When you’re sad, depressed, and angry, your cells age and die more quickly.

You may even numb yourself with drugs, alcohol and other addictions. Because you don’t feel you’re worthy, you don’t take care of yourself by eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, and obtaining the medical attention you need. This leads to an unhealthy body.

Not a pretty picture. This isn’t what you want for your life. But there is good news! You don’t have to live like this. You can create a better life for yourself, knowing your worth, achieving your goals, and being happy and excited about life. By learning how to be self-confident, you’re telling yourself that it’s time for a change and that you’re ready for change. That’s exactly what you need to be doing right now.

Make a list of all the people in your life who are supportive of you. How often do you talk with them or meet with them? Make an effort to spend more time with these supportive people.

Author's Bio:

Vivian Harte is the co-author of Self-Esteem for Dummies in the Dummies series. She has helped over 12,000 people learn and use assertiveness skills during the last 14 years. She teaches online classes on assertiveness, self-confidence, and teamwork. She has a Bachelors degree in Sociology and a Masters degree in Public Administration. She taught college classes for many years in Tucson, Arizona. She has two grown children who are both successful. She lives in Tucson with her husband, three dogs and two cats.

She offers kits with articles, guided visualizations, and songs as well as online courses, group coaching and 1-on-1 coaching, and you can find out more about these at her website, self-esteem-for-me.com. To identify where you are now on the confidence scale and understand why you need to grow to be on a much higher level, download her free kit How Self-Confidence Improves Your Life.